TOTALAN, Spain, Jan 21- Efforts to reach a two-year-old boy who fell into a borehole in southern Spain more than a week ago are nearing their most dangerous stage, an engineer on the rescue team said on Monday. "The most dangerous part, the most delicate part, still remains to be done," mining engineer Juan Lopez Escobar told Canal Sur. "We're at 53 meters, and we're just...

TOTALAN, Spain, Jan 19- Rescuers in southern Spain began drilling on Saturday in hopes of rescuing a two-year-old boy trapped in a deep well for six days. Were not bothered by the hours, the tiredness or the lack of sleep, " Angel Vidal, the lead engineer overseeing the rescue, said on Saturday. Drilling of the first of two tunnels that will be made to reach the boy began at...

The rail merger deal would have created the world's second largest rail company with combined revenues of around 15 billion euros, roughly half the size of China's state-owned CRRC Corp Ltd but twice the size of Canada's Bombardier. Germany and France support the deal, saying it would help secure the competitiveness of the European rail industry.

SAO PAULO, Jan 18- ArcelorMittal SA, the world's largest steelmaker, is set to build its first-ever desalination unit in Brazil to handle unforeseen water needs at its plant in the eastern state of Espírito Santo, senior company executives said in an interview on Friday. The unit is aimed at lessening the company's dependence on state water utility company...

Jan 16- Top U.S. aluminum producer Alcoa Corp beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Wednesday, buoyed by strength in its alumina segment, but shares slipped after the company did not provide a closely watched profit measure for the full year. "Demand growth for primary aluminum in 2019 is expected to be robust, with global consumption growth in the...

*Focus on Vodafone's UK, German and Irish markets. As part of the deal, the UK- based telecoms operator will pay $550 million to IBM under an eight-year managed-services agreement that will offer tools such as artificial intelligence and automation to networked businesses. Vodafone has built a strong position in mobile services for business- it is the No. 1 or No. 2...

LONDON, Jan 17- A rally in peripheral euro zone bonds gathered momentum on Thursday, bolstered by successful bond sales from Italy and Spain and extending to Greece after prime minister Alexis Tsipras survived a no confidence vote in parliament. Italy's government bond yields fell the most and were down up to 6.5 basis points across the curve.

*Spain sells 4.6 bln euros of bonds at auction. Euro zone bond markets have taken their cue this week from Britain, where gilt yields rose on Wednesday after the parliament rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's withdrawal agreement with the European Union. Peter Chatwell, rates strategist at Mizuho said that any optimism on UK politics was "sorely misplaced."

OSLO, Jan 16- Budget carrier Norwegian Air will axe a number of routes in Europe and to the U.S and the Middle East, shutting several bases as part of a cost-cutting plan announced last month. The airliner will close its bases in Palma de Mallorca, Gran Canaria, and Tenerife in Spain, as well as in Stewart and Providence in the United States. "These aircraft are primarily...

*MSCI's Asia-Pacific ex- Japan index little changed. LONDON, Jan 16- World equity markets on Wednesday rode out the heavy parliamentary defeat for British Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal, as investors saw potential for legislative deadlock to force London to delay its departure from the EU. May's government faces a no confidence vote on Wednesday...

MADRID, Jan 15- Banco Santander said on Tuesday that Italian banker Andrea Orcel would not take over as chief executive after it could not meet his pay expectations, in a rare and unusual move for a top bank. Jose Antonio Alvarez will now stay on as CEO instead of Orcel, who previously worked for Swiss bank UBS and was appointed to the role at Spain's largest bank in...

*Italy hires banks for new 15- yr bond deal. LONDON, Jan 14- Record investor demand for the year's first wave of euro zone government bond sales sets the stage for new debt issuance from Italy and Spain, whose debt agencies are keen to capitalize on the conducive environment, bankers said. Spain is expected to follow with a syndicated bond next week, bankers told...

**MADRID- Bank of Spain Governor Pablo Hernández de Cos will deliver a speech on the Spanish economy at the 9th edition of Spain Investors Day- 1900 GMT STRASBOURG, France- ECB President Mario Draghi participates in meeting of the plenary of the European Parliament to mark the 20th anniversary of the euro in Strasbourg 1030 GMT. STRASBOURG, France- The European...

*Italy hires banks for new 15- yr bond deal. LONDON, Jan 14- Record investor demand for the year's first wave of euro zone government bond sales sets the stage for new debt issuance from Italy and Spain, whose debt agencies are keen to capitalise on the conducive environment, bankers said. Spain is expected to follow with a syndicated bond next week, bankers told...

Chinese foreign direct investment into North America and Europe fell by 73 percent to a six-year low last year as the U.S. tightened scrutiny of deals and Chinese restrictions on outbound investment bit, law firm Baker and McKenzie said.